Pavel Černoch

Verdi's Requiem was written to honour the memory of the novelist Alessandro Manzoni and the composer also included the previously composed part of Libera me from the intended Mass for Rossini. In it, the soprano sings softly, pleadingly: "Deliver me, Lord..." Little did Verdi know that, like Rossini and Manzoni, he too would achieve immortality through his work. Among those immortal in this way are also the architects Antonín Balšánek and Osvald Polívka, who left us the beautiful Smetana Hall in Prague. It is perfect for great vocal-instrumental opuses. Let us pay tribute to all these greats together with conductor Tomáš Brauner and the stellar cast of singers led by Ester Pavlů and Pavel Černoch.

Rusalka feels trapped in a world from which there is no escape. She is ready to put her immortality on the line in return for a human soul, so she can gain the love of a handsome prince. But she must pay for it with her voice. Muted and liberated from her dark world, she is forced to watch as the prince rejects her in favor of a foreign princess – dooming them both. She cannot live, she cannot die, yet nevertheless at the end, she helps the prince find his death with a “rescuing” kiss.